You may recall my Hush Hush post about great things in the making. Well, this is one of my favourites. I’m thrilled to announce the arrival of a new book, which I wrote last summer: Every Drop Counts. I really, really enjoyed researching and writing this social-justice-themed book. The research phase involved interviewing several people, including two water-savvy 10-year-olds. Also, it was a great honour to interview Dene Elder Nancy Scanie from Cold Lake First Nation in Alberta.

Every Drop Counts, Scholastic Education Canada, 2016

Nancy told me how, as a child, she used to dip a cup into a lake or river and drink water than was “pure” and “tasty.” But today in Cold Lake, lakes are dying and families have to spend hundreds of dollars on bottled water. My first thought was knee-jerk skeptical. Why not just boil the water to purify it? Yes, this works for parasites, such as beaver fever — giardia — but boiling doesn’t rid water of deadly poisons like cyanide.

In her final message, Nancy said, “Keep Mother Earth clean and keep our waters clean.” And from all the articles I combed through, the stats I examined, and the people I spoke, to Nancy’s advice stands out for its simple honesty.

The books in Scholastic’s informative Take Action series encourage children to make a difference by making changes and speaking out.

If you teach children in grades 4 to 6, you might want to check out the classroom sets available through Scholastic Canada.

You can find "trade" books by Jill Bryant at your favourite local bookstore.
Just ask the bookseller to order them if they aren't on the shelf.
Alternatively, shop online at Chapters Indigo.ca or Amazon.ca.